All language subtitles for Ancient Aliens S08E07 The God Particle

NARRATOR: It has been called
the key to the universe.

WOMAN: We are just
discovering something

which is completely
blowing our minds.

NARRATOR: A gateway
to new technologies.

MAN: We're going into
vast unknown territory.

Who knows what we'll find?

NARRATOR: And possibly
the most important

scientific breakthrough
of all time.

MAN: It's gonna
open up new layers

of our understanding of reality.

NARRATOR: Could the so-called
God particle

really reveal the truth
about our origins?

And might clues to
its significance

have been left here on Earth
thousands of years ago

by extraterrestrial beings?

MAN: We can use this

to understand our place
in the universe

and even to teleport and travel
through time and space.

NARRATOR: Millions of people
around the world

believe we have been
visited in the past

by extraterrestrial beings.

What if it were true?

Did ancient aliens really help
to shape our history?

And if so,
might there be evidence

in the discovery of
the God particle?

Every religion seeks to answer
the same question:

"Where did we come from?"

Philosophers, sages and priests
have pondered our origins

since the dawn of humanity,

while science has
looked for evidence

that might one day
give us the answer.

Both religion and science
approach the idea

of where we come from
with a set of rules.

Science has
the scientific method.

Religion comes at
the same question

with its own set of rules...

A presupposition that
a god or gods exist.

Religion gives us
a certain view of reality,

and science gives us
a different view of reality.

And yes, there are points

at which these two world-views
are compatible.

Science and religion,
at their best moments,

are searching for truth,
as is philosophy.

Especially at moments like
the moment of the big bang,

the moment of creation,
the genesis,

these streams of thought
converge.

In effect, science and religion
and philosophy

are all searching
for the same thing.

It reminds me of
Einstein's question:

"What were God's thoughts when
he was making the universe?"

NARRATOR:
If science and religion

are both searching for answers
to the same questions,

then why do we so often
consider them at odds?

Is it necessary that
one negates the other?

Science speaks
nothing whatsoever

about the existence of God.

And because of that,

there's still an opening
for God, right?

There's still a possibility that
God stands behind all this,

that God's responsible
for the big bang.

MAN: In the ancient world,

the philosophers
were the scientists.

There was no clear distinction
between hard research

and theological speculations.

All serious thinkers
were trying to figure out

the nature of reality.

Now we consider these
to be separate pursuits.

MAN: If we truly want
to bridge the gap

between religion and science,

we must recognize that religion
needs to become more scientific.

And science would benefit

by becoming
a wee bit more religious...

Not in the mythological sense,

but by looking back
to the religious

and "what they interpret
to be myth,"

and say, "if there's
any legitimacy"

"or reality to this, what is it?"

"Let's explore. Let's discover."

"Let's find out
what the truth is."

NARRATOR:
As our technology advances

at an increasingly rapid rate,

are we getting closer to
discovering our true origins?

And finding out whether or not

we really are alone
in the universe?

Some believe a recent
scientific breakthrough

may prove to be
a giant leap forward

in our search for the truth.

Geneva, Switzerland.

Here, buried over 300 feet
beneath the earth

and covering a remarkable
17-mile expanse,

is the largest and most complex
machine ever created:

The Large Hadron Collider,
or LHC.

Smashing tiny protons together

at speeds of nearly
670 million miles per hour,

the LHC creates
such intense energy

that some people are afraid

it could actually
create a black hole

and swallow up the entire earth.

The Large Hadron Collider

is a real triumph of
human civilization,

and it's easily the most
complicated and powerful device

that the human beings
have ever built.

You're actually firing
2 protons into each other

and having them collide with
an enormous release of energy,

re-creating conditions
in a very small area

similar to the big bang
in its very earliest instant.

It is a bit like
going back in time

towards the big bang or
the beginning of the universe,

getting to points
in the history of the universe

where the energies
were that high.

NARRATOR: On July 4, 2012,

thousands crowded
outside an auditorium

at the European Organization
for Nuclear Research, or CERN,

to hear the announcement of
the LHC's first major finding.

Streaming the event
live across the world,

scientists prepared
to reveal a discovery

that could solve
a decades-old mystery

about the nature
of our universe.

The atmosphere in the room was,
uh, was incredible.

It was not like a normal
physics symposium or seminar.

It was truly something of
completely different magnitude

was going to be announced,

that it is completely
extraordinary, which it was.

As a layman, I would now say
I think we have it.

NARRATOR: What the scientists
at CERN had discovered

was a tiny bit of matter
that some call the God particle.

MAN: Scientists around the world

celebrated the discovery
of the God particle

as a milestone
in human knowledge

and thought that
it's gonna open up

new layers of our understanding
of reality.

NARRATOR: But just what is
the so-called God particle,

and what is it telling us
about the universe?

Known in the scientific
community as the Higgs boson,

the particle was first theorized

by physicist Peter Higgs
in 1964.

Its discovery confirms the
existence of an invisible force

throughout the universe
known as the Higgs field.

Scientists believe

when particles interact
with this field,

they acquire mass,
which slows them down

and allows them to form matter
such as planets and stars.

A image that's often used

is Ping-Pong balls moving
through sand or sugar.

Sometimes they're
pushed down real deep.

Sometimes they're
on top of the sand.

If you're on top,
you move around quickly.

If you're deep in,
you move slowly.

And that interaction with
this other Higgs particle

is what gives
other particles their mass.

You really can't overemphasize
the importance

of finally saying
there is a Higgs particle

and that we really are
on the right track.

BRANDENBURG:
There's great excitement

in the scientific community,

because the Higgs field
permeates all of space-time.

It's possible, theoretically,

to effectively switch off
the mass of particles

and achieve near-light speed
very easily.

This could open up
not only the planets,

but the stars
to human exploration.

MAN: Whether it's through
science, religion, philosophy,

or the ancient astronaut theory,
the fact is,

we are all seeking answers
to the same questions:

"Who are we?
Where do we come from?"

And ultimately,
"Where are we going?"

And so we celebrate a discovery
like the Higgs boson,

or "God particle," because
it brings us that much closer

to answering the questions
that have fascinated humanity

for thousands of years.

NARRATOR: Scientists believe

that the discovery
of this tiny particle

could represent a quantum leap

in our understanding
of the universe.

Some have even proposed

that it could open the door
to antigravity technology,

travel at the speed of light,
and the creation of wormholes.

However, ancient astronaut
theorists propose

that the God particle
is not a new discovery,

but rather a rediscovery.

Chandigarh, India.

This thriving city at the foot
of the towering Himalayas

is the capital of India's
Punjab state.

It was in this region
of northwest India

that scholars believe

a series of religious texts
called the Vedas

were compiled from oral stories

that had been passed down
for centuries.

MAN: The Vedas, according to
the Indian tradition itself,

were put together into the final
form about 5,000 years ago,

but these hymns
had been circulating

in the Indian region
for a long time.

We do know that
not a single letter

of the 4 Vedas has changed,

unlike any other texts
in the world,

so there was a belief

that the text of the Vedas
should not be tampered with,

because they represent
the entire cosmos.

YOUNG: In the Hindu lore,

the Vedas are not
of earthly origin.

They are from
mysterious sources,

and they are from before time.

They are from before
human history

and are said to be from
before even the gods.

Major figures in modern science

were ardent students
of the Vedas.

Bohr and Schrodinger
read arduously.

Oppenheimer could
read it in Sanskrit.

Even Einstein and Tesla
were known to have read it.

It had a profound influence
on modern thinking.

NARRATOR:
Inside these ancient tomes

are Hinduism's first
stories of creation.

In one Vedic text
called the Rig-Veda,

creation was said to have begun
suddenly and explosively

from an infinitesimal
point of pure energy.

TSOUKALOS: It describes
this strange cosmic egg

that begins as a single
concentrated point,

and everything expanded from
this single concentrated point

to form the universe.

Now, if you look at this
from a modern perspective,

this actually reflects modern
science's big bang theory,

where the universe began
as a singularity

and expanded to form the
universe as we know it today.

To me, the similarities
are astounding.

MAN: It's not like this idea
was just banging around

for anybody to see.

It was a concept

that our scientists
didn't start to embrace

until the 20th century,

and yet it was already there
in these texts

that are at least
3,000 years old,

if not much older.

KAK: What is remarkable
in the Vedas

is that they were able to
come to an understanding

which is very similar
to the understanding

that modern science has reached

through the intuitions of our
great contemporary scientists.

NARRATOR: Is it really possible

that the Hindu creation story
from the Rig-Veda

is evidence that people living
thousands of years ago

may have had knowledge of
the precise scientific process

involved in the creation
of the universe...

A process modern scientists

are only just beginning
to understand?

Ancient astronaut
theorists say yes,

and believe that
further proof can be found

in another early creation story:

The Hebrew Bible's
book of Genesis.

BRANDENBURG: One of the first
phrases in Genesis:

"Let there be light."

And this is like the moment
of the big bang.

The whole universe began
effectively as light, as energy.

We're speaking of
moments of existence

that humans would experience
just as a great flash of light.

And in that sense,

the story of Genesis in
the Bible and science converge.

YOUNG: We have in this verse

the description of
the very first light,

the light out of which
all things came,

the light which led,
finally, to matter,

to things of substance,
to the universe itself.

In current scientific theory,

fractions of a second
after the big bang,

the Higgs field transformed

what had been particles
of light into mass,

matter into creation itself.

We have very strong parallels
with the Scriptures...

First light and then matter.

NARRATOR: Similar descriptions
of the universe

beginning from
a single point of light

can be found in cultures
throughout the ancient world,

from Egypt to China
and to the American Southwest.

YOUNG: In the Egyptian
creation narrative,

the very first god was Atum.

He emerged from the darkness to
create Egyptian civilization.

The Sumerian,
the Egyptian, the Norse,

something emerges
out of darkness.

Order emerges out of chaos.

Where there was no form,
form begins.

There is something
about these stories

that is beyond any one of them

that seems to allude
to a greater reality.

NARRATOR: But how is it

that the ancient world's
most sacred texts

all describe creation
in much the same way

as our current
scientific theory?

And where did our ancestors get

this seemingly advanced
understanding

of the origins of the universe?

Ancient astronaut
theorists believe

the answers may lie in
the stories of the man

who compiled the Vedic texts
in written form,

a mysterious sage
named Veda Vyasa.

In the Hindu mythologies,

Vyasa is believed to be

a reincarnation
of the god Vishnu,

and that Vishnu specifically
took on a human embodiment

to be able to write down
these classic texts.

This sage Vyasa,
who is the author of the Vedas,

was said to be an immortal

and, ultimately,
one of the gods himself.

TSOUKALOS: Some have suggested
that Vyasa came to Earth

to record and impart
this Vedic knowledge to mankind.

Now, could it be possible

that he was in fact
an extraterrestrial

who came here
with the direct mission

to bring knowledge to mankind

and guide them
in their understanding

of science and physics?

NARRATOR: Could Veda Vyasa

really have been
an extraterrestrial?

And might he have
educated mankind

about the workings of
the universe thousands of years

before the Large Hadron Collider
was ever even constructed?

But if so, why?

Ancient astronaut
theorists believe

further evidence can be found

in the stories of
a Greek scientist

2,500 years ahead of his time.

The Thracian coast, Greece.

At the northern end
of the Aegean Sea

lie the ruins
of an ancient metropolis.

2,500 years ago,

Abdera was a thriving seaport
and trading center.

It was a wealthy hub of commerce
between empires

and the home of one of history's
greatest thinkers: Democritus.

Democritus was
a Greek philosopher

in the fifth century
before the Common Era.

He was not just a philosopher,
but a scientific theorist.

In fact, his great gifts
have led him to be revered

as the father of modern science.

NARRATOR: Democritus was born
to a wealthy family

and educated by Persian Magi,

learned priests who were
said to control the Fates.

It was believed that
he was trained by the Magi,

these priests of the east,

and that he also traveled
to Egypt and to Babylon

and studied with
the secret masters

who had these ancient
wisdom teachings

hidden in their lineage.

MAN: Democritus traveled
quite a bit

and, through his travels,

learned quite a lot
traveling east through...

In what we call
the Ancient Near East

studying with the Magi

and studying with Chaldeans

who were known for their
magical, mysterious learnings

and their magical, mysterious
knowledge as well.

NARRATOR: Through his travels
and his interactions

with people said to have
mysterious knowledge,

the young philosopher
and mathematician

came up with a radical theory

concerning all matter
in the universe.

Democritus theorized
that everything...

People, plants, stone and sun...

Were made of the same stuff:

Tiny particles
he called "atomos."

WOMAN: He developed an early
version of the atomic theory.

It is an early theory of
everything in the world

being made up of
these very, very small,

invisible particles which
Democritus then called atoms.

CARGILL: Democritus argued

that there's a fundamental
building block,

even though
we couldn't see them.

That was the theory...

The philosophical theory
that was in Ancient Greece.

This is long before science.

DENNIN: When Democritus
was talking about atoms,

it's amazing of how close he got
to what we really know.

What he was motivated by
was the idea

that if you cut something up,

the pieces still have
the same properties.

And so he just did
the thought experiment,

"Well, if I keep
cutting it smaller,"

"then eventually I'll have
the smallest possible piece,"

"and that's the atom,"

"and that's what gives it
its properties."

That's basically
our picture of matter now.

That smallest piece is
the protons, neutrons,

and the electron
that make up the atom.

NARRATOR: What Democritus
articulated 2,500 years ago

is remarkably similar to today's
standard model of physics...

The basis of our search
for the Higgs boson,

or God particle.

But how could Democritus
have known about the atom

and the forces that govern it?

Could it be that Democritus
had access to advanced

and perhaps even
extraterrestrial information

about the quantum realm?

Some ancient astronaut
theorists believe

that the answer may lie in
an even more radical suggestion.

Democritus made
about the cosmos.

TSOUKALOS: In his writings,

Democritus proposed that
there are many worlds

and that these worlds
even sustained life.

Now, could it be that
by "other worlds,"

he was maybe even referring to
parallel universes?

DENNIN: As we fast forward
from Democritus

to the more current era,

where the idea of parallel
universes have really taken off

is the multi-universe view,

where all possible universes
has occurred.

This is very similar
to Democritus's idea

of the making
all possible universes,

but now they're very much
next to each other,

parallel in space,
as well as occurring in time.

NARRATOR:
Some cosmologists today

believe our universe
is one of many

and that the God particle
could lead us

to discovering
these other universes.

Is it possible that Democritus
had knowledge of this

2,500 years ago?

And might that information
have come to him

not only from a different world,

but perhaps
a different universe?

MAN: Democritus claimed
to communicate with

what he thought were
parallel worlds.

He sometimes would
exercise his energy

by going into places of the dead

and would receive what
he thought were voices

and information which would
predict the future.

TSOUKALOS:
Some accounts of Democritus

describe him as having access
to magical powers

with which he could
control the weather

and predict natural disasters.

He also allegedly
communicated with

what he referred to
as other worlds,

and he described images
and voices that came to him

giving him
all sorts of information.

WILCOCK: Is it possible
that the priests of the Magi,

the priests of the Egyptian
mystery schools,

and the priests of Babylon

taught him some form
of ancient practice

that allows the human body
to become an instrument

to connect directly
on a telepathic level

with extraterrestrial beings?

BAR TZADOK: The more that
we draw forth in science,

we're going to discover
the truths of the past

that have long been
hidden from us.

Yes, mankind has been directed
from the beginning.

NARRATOR: But did Democritus
truly understand atomic theory

and the concept of
multiple universes

all the way back
in the fifth century BC?

Or is it possible,

as some ancient astronaut
theorists suggest,

that he was simply documenting
information passed on to him

by more advanced beings...

Clues about our universe

deliberately left for us
to discover over time?

Perhaps the answer can be found

by looking at the discovery
of the God particle

and its connection
to the Mayan calendar.

Palenque, Mexico.

These majestic stone ruins
are all that remain

of the once powerful Mayan city.

With its towering stone pyramids
and ornate plazas,

Palenque reveals
the true sophistication

of the Mayan civilization.

In terms of scientific
and artistic achievements,

the Maya were among the world's
best ancient civilizations.

Their advancements
in math, engineering,

astronomy, geometry
were unparalleled

in the entire Americas.

NARRATOR: It was in
this ancient Mayan city

that researchers have unearthed

one of the best examples
of a remarkable calendar

that tracked not only
days and months,

but also ages spanning
thousands of years.

BARNHART: The Maya were very,

very intent on recording
the passage of time,

so much so that early scholars
called the entire culture

esoteric time worshipers.

They had a number of
calendrical cycles.

One of the last ones they made
we call the Long Count.

To the Western mind,

you could look at it as
the odometer on your car.

It clicks through time,

and scholars have
a difference of opinion

whether it is a cycle
that will reset itself

or whether it is a system

that can go backwards
and forwards into perpetuity.

HENRY: The Mayans were
obsessed with the idea

of time cycles and worlds.

They believed that we had
existed in 3 previous worlds

and that they could
forecast or predict

the emergence of a new world.

That was the purpose
of the Mayan calendar,

was to pinpoint
a specific date and time

when one world would end
and a new world would begin.

NARRATOR:
The Mayan calendar last turned

on December 21, 2012.

Thousands of people
from around the world

descended on Mayan sites
to mark the event.

Some, however, saw dire omens
in the occasion.

The Mayan prediction of the end
of the world in December 2012

caused a firestorm
of prophecy watchers

and people believing that
it was actually doomsday.

But as we know now,

nothing of that nature
actually happened at that time.

NARRATOR: If it wasn't
a doomsday clock,

as many believed,

then just what was this ancient
calendar predicting?

Ancient astronaut
theorists suggest

it may have in fact been
counting down,

not to the end of the world,

but to the dawn of a new era
in human history.

The Mayans never said
it was gonna be doomsday.

They simply said it would be
a new moment of creation.

Maybe the Mayan calendar
predicted

a monumental leap forward,

a transition that would lead us
into a whole new era

of scientific understanding
and possibility.

CHILDRESS: What did happen was,
we discovered the God particle,

the Higgs boson.

So perhaps what the Mayan
calendar was trying to predict

was not some terrible
catastrophe,

but our own very important
discovery of the God particle

and how we can use this

to understand our place
in the universe.

NARRATOR: If the Maya
did indeed predict

the discovery of
the God particle,

did they also leave a clue

as to where this knowledge
will take us?

Some ancient astronaut
theorists believe

the answer may be found
480 miles north

on carved blocks
of hard volcanic andesite

at another Mayan
archaeological site in Izapa.

On Stela 5, there is a depiction
of a mythological tree

that the Maya believed connected
the cosmos and the earth.

For the Maya,

the world tree bridged
the seen and the unseen,

the celestial and the earthly.

The Mayans believed
the tree exuded

a kind of syrup or sap
called the itz.

It had qualities
that allowed portals to open

to make contact with
unseen dimensions.

It was the key, if you will,
to other worlds.

MARTELL: The Mayans talked about
this type of cosmic ooze

that they thought literally
emanated from the world tree.

The itz actually opened up
portals to other worlds.

Maybe they're talking about
some type of advanced energy

that they didn't directly
have access to,

but had the understandings
and teachings

possibly taught to them
by extraterrestrials.

When I looked at the symbolism
of the sacred tree,

I got to thinking,

what if that sap
is the Higgs boson,

the God particle?

And you have scientists saying

that it could potentially
lead to time travel

and our ability to create
tiny wormholes.

Now, is it possible

that we can use the discovery
of the God particle

and the Higgs boson

to understand our place
in the universe

and even to teleport

and travel through time
and space?

NARRATOR:
Was the Mayan calendar devised

to predict the discovery
of the God particle?

And if so, could this mean
that we are getting closer

to a reconnection
with alien beings

that visited Earth long ago?

Some ancient astronaut
theorists believe

another clue may be found

just outside the entrance
to the Large Hadron Collider

with the statue of Shiva.

Geneva, Switzerland.

Outside the headquarters of
CERN's Large Hadron Collider

is a 12-foot statue
of the Shiva Nataraja,

or the Dancing Shiva,

one of Hinduism's
most powerful gods.

YOUNG: Lord Shiva is
one of the 3 great gods

of the Hindu teaching.

He is the god of destruction.

His job is to destroy,
but it is in order to renew.

He destroys and creates.

His energy, the dance...

He's considered the lord of
the dance, a cosmic dance,

and it is the dance of
destruction and re-creation.

MAN: God Shiva
is a complex character.

It's very difficult
to understand Shiva

in one, uh, in one word,

because he is the god of
procreation,

and he is also
the god of destruction.

He is also the god that
destroys everything,

because everything that is
created must come to an end.

NARRATOR:
According to Hindu mythology,

Shiva is the god who will
one day destroy the universe

to make way for a new one.

YOUNG: Shiva's cosmic dance
is not seen as a negative,

even though it is
greatly destructive.

It is destroying in order for
something new to be created.

So it is an essential part
of the process of life

that things are cleared away
so new things,

new possibilities,
better possibilities can emerge.

NARRATOR: But could
the various attributes

associated with this Hindu god

be connected to
a recent discovery

made at the Large
Hadron Collider

about how our universe
could suddenly

and catastrophically end?

FRISBEE: One of
the intriguing outcomes

of the Higgs boson
mass measurement

is the realization
that the Higgs boson

and the top quark

may put us right
on the ragged edge

of an instability condition
in the universe.

The universe can exist in
several different states.

Water.

It can exist as steam,

as liquid water, frozen ice.

If the universe changes state,

it would produce bubbles
of space-time

expanding at the speed of light

that could destroy everything,
all normal matter,

all everything in the universe
as we know it.

Some people are seeing
theories that say

there's gonna be
expanding bubbles of nothingness

that will create new...
Whole new universes.

And, in a sense,

we know that the universe
has to be unstable

because it made the big bang
in the first place.

NARRATOR: Could Shiva
not only be a mythological deity

that represents the ancient
Hindus' understanding

of the universe,

but might he also have been
an otherworldly being

who passed on information
to our ancestors

that we are only now
rediscovering?

Maybe the great god Shiva,
the destroyer,

was actually trying
to communicate in ancient times

things that we're learning today

about breaking things down
to the finest particles

and understanding that
these are how we understand

the basis of life
at a subatomic level.

TSOUKALOS: In Hindu tradition,

Shiva was often portrayed
as blue-skinned

with a third eye
in the middle of his forehead.

And if you look at the different
depictions of Shiva's dance,

you see that he is almost
always surrounded

by some type of a circular
structure with flames.

MARTELL: We see parallels
to technology

where he's always depicted
in this circle

when he's doing
his cosmic dance.

It seems very similar to what
we see at the hadron accelerator

in this large circular
particle accelerator.

Maybe there's some tie-in

between Shiva being depicted
in a circular device

and the way we're
smashing particles now

in the hadron accelerator.

TSOUKALOS: Now, what did
our human ancestor artists

try to depict here?

Do the accounts
of his cosmic dance

refer to some type of
misunderstood technology

very much similar to
the Large Hadron Collider?

YOUNG: In the Catholic Mass,

there is a ceremonial artifact
called a monstrance.

If you look at this image,
if you look at this item,

it has a burst of light

very similar to the pattern
of Shiva's light,

this dance of creation.

Some say this shape can be seen
in the Hadron Collider at CERN.

NARRATOR: Does this suggest
that the invention of tools,

like the Large Hadron Collider,

are happening as part of a plan?

Did celestial beings who came
to Earth in the distant past

give early humans insights
into the origin of existence?

Ancient astronaut
theorists believe

the answers may be found

not in what CERN has
already uncovered,

but in discoveries yet to come.

CERN headquarters,
Geneva, Switzerland.

The Large Hadron Collider was
heralded as a monumental success

when it helped to discover
the Higgs boson,

or God particle, in 2012,

but that was only the beginning.

Since then, researchers have
embarked on a multi-year project

to upgrade what is already the
most powerful machine on Earth

by retrofitting it
with bigger, better,

and more efficient systems.

When the Large Hadron Collider
is activated again in 2015,

it will wield at least double
the power it did in 2012,

and could boast
even 10 times more

by the end of the decade.

FRISBEE: And when you look at
the size of the detectors

at the Large Hadron Collider,

you realize that
we really are pushing

the limits of technology.

The Large Hadron Collider

is something like
7 times more powerful

than anything else
that's existed before.

We'll be even able to get even
closer to conditions in time,

even closer to the beginning
of the big bang.

SPIROPULU: The work that
is happening right now

during the LHC shutdown

is to prepare the detectors

and the experiments for
the big energy step.

We are going into
even more higher energy,

and that means that
we are probing deeper,

and we can be
just around the corner

of discovering something

which is completely
blowing our minds.

BRANDENBURG: The human race

is gonna be focusing
more energy in a small area

than we've ever done before,

so we're looking for
a whole new phenomenon.

NARRATOR:
The scientists at CERN hope

that by increasing the power
of the Large Hadron Collider,

they will not only be
able to learn more

about the God particle,

but also uncover other,

perhaps even more profound
secrets of the universe.

But some scientists
have voiced concerns

that the Large Hadron Collider
could create a black hole

that would swallow up the earth,

set off a massive
nuclear explosion,

or even form a vacuum bubble

that could tip the balance
of the entire universe.

Perhaps this is
a little hubris...

And we all know what happens

when physicists get
full of hubris...

But there's always
a little bit of fear

when you're pushing back
the frontiers of science.

It's part of
the frontier spirit.

SPIROPULU: We have to admit

that we don't know how
the universe started.

And as we go into higher
and higher energies,

we don't know what
we are going to find,

because this physics at these
levels is an experimental,

completely experimental,
uh, science.

We don't have
the complete understanding

and description of the universe

that can create
this anxiety and fear

that we might create something
that will end the universe.

When we look at the experiments
that have been conducted at CERN

with the Large Hadron Collider,

it may be that humanity is
taking its first baby steps

towards the actual construction
of the universe.

We're manipulating matter
at the subatomic level,

and we are literally harnessing

the forces of creation
themselves.

BRANDENBURG:
The amount of the universe

that we see and know

that is part of
the standard model of physics

is only, like, 4% of the mass
of the universe.

We're going into vast
unknown territory.

We're going to be
witnessing events

that no human being
has ever witnessed before

and energy density scales

no human being has ever
been able to create before,

so it's very exciting.

Who knows what we'll find?

NARRATOR: By wielding
the incredible power

of the Large Hadron Collider,

could we one day
re-create the big bang

to form an entirely
new universe,

and at the same time,
destroy our own?

Or might we instead be
reaching the threshold

of a new age for mankind?

If ancient astronauts
came to our planet

hundreds of centuries ago,

perhaps they deliberately
planted the seeds of knowledge

that would eventually lead us
to where we are today.

Perhaps finding
the so-called God particle

will allow us to finally answer

mankind's most persistent
questions:

"Who are we?
Where did we come from?"

And the most persistent of all:

"Are we alone?"